


Coffee for your soul

by olathe



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, The Iliad - Homer, The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Coffee Shops, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, You've been warned, achilles and helen are best friends because i love my golden demigod children, barista Patroclus, patrochilles - Freeform, there's some swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olathe/pseuds/olathe
Summary: The first words your soulmate will say to you are tattooed on your skin.If only Patroclus could gather his courage to talk to the cute guy coming to the café every day.
Relationships: Achilles/Patroclus, Achilles/Patroclus (Song of Achilles), Achilles/Patroclus of Opus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 685





	Coffee for your soul

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and I make no profit from this fanwork.
> 
> Enjoy! ☕☕☕

Patroclus couldn’t wait for his shift to be over. He liked working in the coffeeshop, but it’s been an extremely busy day. One of the guys called in sick so they were one man down and Pat barely had time to catch his breath between two orders. It also didn’t help that the café seemed to lure in a lot of douchebags that day; at least three of his customers were competing to win the asshole of the month title. He was having a stressful day.

“Enjoy your coffee” he smiled at the redhaired girl as he handed her her vanilla latte. She thanked him with a polite smile, and after she left, Patroclus finally had a few moments without another customer. He let out a long breath as he rested his hands on the counter.

He looked down at the sentence on his arm and immediately felt a little more relaxed. Those words always had that effect on him. The thought that there was someone out there destined for him, someone who would one day come up and say those words tattooed on his skin and become a part of his life forever, his soulmate.

The thought would have been enough to put him in a better mood, but it also helped that he happened to have one of the most romantic words as his soulmark.

Not everyone was lucky with the sentence on their skin. Patroclus knew a few people with overused pick up lines like “Did it hurt?” or “Are you from Tennessee?” and many with simple “Nice to meet you” tattoos. It was common to have vague and boring words, after all it was the first sentence your soulmate would say to you, how creative could they get?

Patroclus knew his was special. He remembered when he showed it to Briseis, and the girl just put her hands on her heart and melted on the spot.

“Aww that is not fair. How come you have something sweet like that while I’m stuck with _Hey you kind of look like that naked chick from Game of Thrones._ Who says that to someone they just met? Also, there are a lot of naked women in that show so they should be more specific.”

Patroclus smiled as he thought back to the conversation. Yeah, he was definitely lucky with his mark.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening as two new customers walked inside. A boy and a girl, or more like a god and a goddess. They both had blond hair and were unbelievably beautiful. As they stepped in, the sun shined through the windows, basking them in light and they glowed golden like they were divine.

Patroclus swallowed.

The godlike couple started to walk towards the counter and then stopped in front of him. Up this close they were even more beautiful, especially the boy. He had tan skin, a sharp nose, and a beautiful pink mouth. His eyes were green, but they seemed to be glittering with soft particles of golden light. He was stunning.

Patroclus decided it would be safer to look at the girl, before he did something stupid in front of the boy, like ask him out (or to marry him).

“Hi, what can I get you?” he smiled at the girl as he tried to keep his gaze on her and away from her friend.

“We’d like a white chocolate mocha and a caramel latte with cinnamon to go, please. Both large.”

“Name for the order?”

“Helen”

“Alright,” Patroclus scribbled the name down on both paper cups. “that will be $8.90”

The girl, Helen, handed him the money, and he smiled at her – still avoiding looking at the boy standing next to her – as he told her their drinks will be ready soon.

He stepped away from the cash register and started preparing the drinks. He tried to focus on the task ahead, but he could make these drinks with his eyes closed and couldn’t help his mind going back to the boy waiting at the counter.

Looking away from the mocha, he was surprised to see a pair of green eyes already looking at him. Embarrassed, he quickly swept his gaze away, and in his hurry, he almost knocked over the drink in front of him.

He steadied the cup with a hand and closed his eyes, feeling his face heat up in a blush. That’s when he heard a quite laugh. Hearing the soft sound, he couldn’t help but look up again, expecting to see a mocking or pitying stare, but the green eyes that were still on him were kind and the smile sent his way was amused but warm. He felt his shoulders relax and sent back a bashful smile, then looked away again and tried to turn his full attention on finishing the drinks.

After managing to finish the drinks without any incident, he handed the golden pair their coffees.

“A white chocolate mocha and a caramel latte with cinnamon for Helen. Enjoy!”

They both smiled at him as they accepted the cups, and Helen looked down at his nametag.

“Thank you.. Patroclus” she said, and hearing her, the boy next to her looked down at his apron too. After reading his name there, he looked up to lock eyes with Pat again, his smile growing, making him glow even more and his face even more handsome.

The sight was a little too much for Pat so once again, he turned away and kept his eyes on Helen as he told them to “Have a nice day!”

He forced himself to turn away then and moved to rearrange the paper napkins. Once he heard the door close after them, he figured it was safe to look up again. He let out a sigh when he saw they have indeed left.

He could still see them through the window though, and as he watched them walking out of sight, he could have sworn that he saw those green eyes looking back at him one more time.

*****

“Why didn’t you talk to him?”

They were in his room and he just finished telling Briseis - who happened to be his flat mate - how his day went. She wasn’t exactly happy with his actions.

“You should’ve said something to him. He could be your soulmate.”

“No, he isn’t. How do you see him answering this” Pat pointed at the words tattooed on his arm “to _I hope you enjoy your drink_?”

“Maybe he really likes coffee so he’s happy his soulmate can make a mean latte” Briseis shrugged.

Patroclus just gave her a flat look.

“Yeah, right.” he sighed, then flopped down on his bed. “Not like it matters now. He’s gone, and I’ll probably never see him again.”

*****

He saw him again the next day.

He was with the same girl - Helen, Patroclus remembered - just like the last time, and just like the last time, he was stunningly attractive. As soon as he saw Patroclus behind the counter, his face seemed to lighten up, like Pat was the sole reason he came back to the coffeeshop.

Of course Pat knew he wasn’t, but a boy could dream, right?

Looking at them Pat remembered Briseis’ words. _You should’ve said something to him. He could be your soulmate._ Maybe here was his chance?

“Okay, okay, I’m gonna do it. I can totally do it.” Patroclus thought to himself, and as they walked up to him, he kept his eyes determinedly on the boy. He took a deep breath to gather his courage, then the couple stopped in front of him. _Here it goes._

“What can I get you?” he asked, eyes snapping to Helen the moment he opened his mouth.

 _Dammit._ Why couldn’t he do this? He felt like such a coward. Briseis was going to kick his ass.

Despite his frustration with himself he smiled at the girl standing in front of him, waiting to hear her order. Then something occurred to him. Maybe this time it wouldn’t be Helen who ordered. Maybe this time the other would talk and then Patroclus could know whether his words were the ones tattooed on his skin. Then he would know for sure if he was his soulmate (and maybe Briseis wouldn’t have to kick his ass.)

All his hopes were quickly stomped on though the moment Helen opened her mouth to order for the two of them again. Things really didn’t want to go his way, huh?

“I’d like a dark roast for me, and just a chamomile tea for Achilles. Both large and to go please. For Helen.”

She paid for the order and Patroclus told her the drinks would be ready soon. He was already working on them, when his brain finally decided to catch up with him.

 _Achilles._ His coffeecrush had a name, and he just found out what it was. _Achilles._

_Achilles. Achilles. Achilles._

He smiled all the while he was preparing the drinks, stealing glances at the waiting pair. At Achilles.

Now that he knew his name, he scribbled it on the top of the lid with a black marker. He smiled looking down at it, then also wrote a little “Enjoy” under it. He hesitated for a second then. Should he add a heart too or would that be too much? Maybe just a smiley, to play it safe?

With a shrug he decided to _fuck it_ , he could take a chance every now and then. He added a black little heart, then quickly called out before he could change his mind.

“One dark roast and one chamomile for Helen!”

Helen came to take the cups, thanked him with a smile on her face then walked up with both drinks to the waiting Achilles. Patroclus kept his eyes on him, wanting to see how he’d react to the little message.

Maybe he wouldn’t even think twice about it. Messages like this weren’t really out of the ordinary. His coworkers always wrote stuff like this on the cups if they were in a good mood, or just thought the customer seemed nice; a little “Have a nice day” or sometimes even a cute doodle. This wasn’t weird. It’s not like he gave him his number. Though he did write “Enjoy <3” only on Achilles’ cup and nothing on Helen’s.

The golden pair started to leave, and Patroclus’ shoulders slumped in disappointment at the lack of reaction. He followed the pair with his eyes, then right in front of the door Achilles seemed to finally notice the black letters on the lid of his tea.

Looking down at it with eyebrows raised, his mouth slowly stretched into a small smile. He looked up then, his green eyes meeting Patroclus’ still lingering gaze. Patroclus smiled back timidly, forcing himself not to look away, even though he felt his face heat up a little and knew he must be sporting a noticeable blush.

Achilles nodded at him, still smiling, and raised his cup in Patroclus’ direction as to thank him. He looked down at his drink again, then after one last look at Patroclus he followed Helen out of the coffeeshop.

Patroclus couldn’t help the stupid smile growing bigger on his face. That was absolutely a win!

The small interaction was enough to keep him in a good mood for the rest of his shift, even though he knew that he still didn’t manage to talk to Achilles and that Bri was definitely going to kick his ass.

*****

Achilles and Helen returned to the café after that almost every day. It was always Helen who ordered, and Achilles still hadn’t said a word to him, but Patroclus was happy enough to see him to not be too frustrated with the situation.

Briseis however was a different story. After Pat told her about the second meeting, the girl was talking his ears off about talking to Achilles. “Don’t you want to know if he’s your soulmate?” she always asked.

And yes, Patroclus did want to know if Achilles was his soulmate, but he could also live without finding out that he wasn’t. He knew it was sort of stupid. If he found out that the other boy was not his soulmate, he knew he could probably move on, knowing that the person his words belonged to was out there somewhere.

But he wanted to pretend for a little longer. Pretend that the golden boy with the ocean green eyes was his one true love, his other half, his soulmate.

So he kept silent. He kept taking the orders from Helen, and settled for receiving only warm smiles from Achilles, and not any words. He kept writing on the lid of his cups too. Short messages only, just like the first one. Nothing bold. But Achilles’ face always lit up and he always sent a beautiful smile his way on his way out.

Most days they ordered their coffees to go, but a few times, they took their drinks to one of the small tables and sat down for a while. The café was rarely empty though, so Patroclus couldn’t just stand and stare dreamily at his crush like he wanted to. But even when he was busy with work, he couldn’t help sneaking glances at Achilles whenever he could.

More than once when Pat turned his gaze towards him, he found that Achilles was already looking his way. Sometimes he even caught Helen’s eyes looking amusedly at him, then at Achilles; smiling like she knew something that Patroclus didn’t. He tried not to think too much of these moments though, he just quickly turned back to work to hide his embarrassment at being caught watching.

It was one of those days Achilles and Helen decided to enjoy their drinks in the café rather than on the road, when Briseis came to see him at work. Patroclus was wiping down the counter and doing a bad job of pretending he wasn’t ogling his crush, when he heard the door open and looked up to see his best friend walk in.

“Pat!” she beamed at him as she walked up to the counter with a bright smile on her face. “Guess whose first draft just got accepted by a publishing office?”

Patroclus’ eyes widened at her words and he felt a surprised smile spread across his face.

“Are you serious? Bri that is huge!” he laughed happily. Briseis joined in the laughter and they hugged each other over the counter, not caring in their joy that it was digging into their stomachs uncomfortably.

“This is amazing.” Patroclus let go of her after a few seconds, still beaming at her proudly.

“I know. I can’t believe it.” she shook her head and grinned, her face glowing.

Patroclus was about to tell her that she worked hard and deserved it, but the sound of her phone ringing silenced him. Briseis got the phone out of her jacket pocket and looked down at the screen.

“It’s Dei.” she told Pat while she put her phone on silent mode so the ringing wouldn’t disturb the people around them. “I’m actually supposed to meet her right now, but I just couldn’t wait to tell you. So now I’m late and I’m blaming you.”

“It is honestly my fault without any doubt.” Patroclus agreed, his face mock serious.

Briseis just grinned at him and started to back away from the counter, still facing Pat. Her phone was still lighting up with the incoming call in her hand.

“I gotta go, but tonight we celebrate.” she pointed her free hand at Patroclus. “And because I’m an awesome friend, I will even get your favorite key lime pie for you.”

“From Agora Bakehouse?” Patroclus lit up even more. He loved that place and he could unironically say that he would marry their key lime pie.

“You know it.” Briseis winked. She was already at the door, so she threw one last smile his way, then after a quick wave she was out. Patroclus saw through the glass that she finally answered the phone as she walked away.

He turned away from the window with a smile on his face and found himself looking at Achilles’ table again. He was startled a little when he saw, that once again Achilles’ eyes were already on him. He probably heard his conversation with Bri; they weren’t exactly quiet.

Realizing that his staring was discovered, Achilles snapped his gaze back to Helen. He acted like he was concentrating on whatever Helen was saying, but the rosiness of his cheeks gave his embarrassment away. (It also did not help that Helen didn’t even seem to be talking, only silently laughing at Achilles’ flustered face, her shoulders shaking in her glee.)

Patroclus’ heart gave an excited flutter at the sight of a blushing Achilles. He didn’t want to read too much into it though, and tried to stay reasonable; he could simply be flustered because he didn’t like to come across as nosy.

The romantic and irrational side of him however had some ideas too, and he couldn’t help but hope that maybe Achilles’ face was burning for a very different reason.

*****

Patroclus was having a bad day.

His dad called him that morning that he needed him for an emergency, so he called the coffeeshop to tell them that he was really sorry, but he couldn’t go in today.

Then the emergency turned out to be nothing serious. His father ordered some furniture and he refused to pay extra for the workers to take them inside, so he called Patroclus to do the work instead. Patroclus had the pleasure to do all the heavy lifting while listening to his father’s running commentary and criticizing. It was a blast.

After his dad was an asshole to him for hours, he thought he would buy a piece of key lime pie from Agora Bakehouse on his way home. Of course the universe thought, that he didn’t even deserve that much.

He was standing at the end of the line, watching helplessly someone buying the last piece. He stared defeatedly at the back of the blond stranger’s head who just took away his last little source of happiness.

He followed the guy out of the bakery, since he didn’t want to buy anything else, and figured he would just head home. What a miserable end to his sorry ass day.

The guy who ruined his life (and no, he wasn’t overdramatizing) seemed to be heading the same way, so Patroclus could at least silently glare at the back of his head. So what if he was a little childish? It wasn’t like the guy could see his dirty looks; he was too busy talking on the phone.

“Yeah, I just came out.” he said into his phone. “I have the pie.”

 _My pie._ Patroclus grumbled in his head.

“What?” the stranger almost shouted, and for a second, Patroclus had the ridiculous thought that somehow he heard his immature thought. “What do you mean he’s not there? He’s always working the same shift.”

 _He was still talking to the person on the phone._ Patroclus relaxed.

“Ugh, I can’t believe this! Of course the day I finally decide to ask him out is the day he’s not there.”

It seemed like Patroclus wasn’t the only one having a bad day.

After hearing the bad news, the stranger quickly ended the conversation, clearly in a sour mood. Patroclus almost forgave him for stealing his pie from him, when the guy walked to the nearest trashcan and threw the paper bag with the pie into it.

“You did not just fucking do that” Patroclus couldn’t help but burst out incredulously. The person whipped around, and Pat could finally see who it was. It was Achilles. The guy he liked. His coffeecrush. Whom he just yelled at because of a piece of pie.

Achilles was looking at him with wide eyes, and when he realized who just screamed at him for his pie related crimes, even his mouth fell open. It was all rather comical.

Patroclus waited for a reply, but the other just kept staring at him like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Pat figured it was up to him to break the silence, so he opened his mouth to say something, but then suddenly Achilles was right in front of him.

Patroclus felt a hand on his jaw and another one on his side, and he didn’t have time to ask Achilles what he was doing before his mouth collided with his. Achilles’ lips were soft, and his kiss was earnest. He tasted like coffee and Patroclus felt his shoulders relax as all his tension melted away with the kiss.

Achilles was the first to draw back, but he didn’t go far away. He touched their foreheads together as he smiled at Patroclus, green eyes soft and happy. His palm was still on Patroclus’ jaw, thumb stroking his cheek absentmindedly, when he spoke up.

“I was hoping, that it would be you.”

Patroclus felt like his chest could barely contain his heart upon hearing the familiar words. The words that he memorized as soon as he could read them on his skin. His soulmate’s first words to him. His soulmate, who was standing right in front of him.

Achilles was looking closely at him, his eyes darting between his brown ones, waiting for his reaction. Patroclus huffed out a disbelieving laugh, then closed the distance between them, kissing Achilles again.

Achilles’ hand moved from his jaw into his hair as their mouths moved together, pulling Patroclus even closer and their noses bumped together a little as they turned their heads into a better angle.

Then Patroclus remembered something and laughed into the kiss. Achilles leaned back and grinned at him questioningly, green eyes sparkling with joy as he raised his eyebrows. “What is it?”

Patroclus rested his forehead on the other’s shoulder as he laughed. “I just can’t believe you have the words _You did not just fucking do that_ tattooed on your skin.” he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Achilles huffed out a laugh too while he was running his fingers through Patroclus hair.

“I like them.” he replied, then with a hand he guided Patroclus’ face up to look at him. “They are yours.”

Patroclus melted at the words and leaned in again to press his lips against Achilles’ mouth to kiss him, much softer this time. He still couldn’t help murmuring into the other’s mouth.

“I’m still mad that you just threw out the last piece of pie though.”

This time it was Achilles’ laughter breaking the kiss. Patroclus didn’t really mind.

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so please feel free to comment any mistakes. I will be happy and eager to correct them.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this oneshot. I'm a sucker for soulmate aus so of course I had to write one for these two (the og soulmates). And what else could cheer us up better in these times than a coffeshop au?
> 
> Also can you tell that I'm obsessed with Achilles' green eyes?!
> 
> If you liked this, please please please let me know with a kudo or a comment! I live for them. (and if you feel like it maybe check out my other oneshots?) xxx


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